Theophrastus on Art and Nature I – Pigments

Red Ochre

“A kind of red ochre is also produced from burnt yellow ochre, although it is not as good (sc. as natural red ochre). It was Kydios’ discovery. For, so they say, he became aware of it when a market burned down: he saw that the yellow ochre when half-burnt had also become red.”

γίνεται [sc. μίλτος] δὲ καὶ ἐκ τῆς ὤχρας κατακαιομένης ἀλλὰ χείρων, τὸ δ' εὕρημα Κυδίου. συνεῖδε γὰρ ἐκεῖνος, ὥς φασι, κατακαυθέντος τινὸς παντοπωλίου* τὴν ὤχραν ἰδὼν ἡμίκαυστον καὶ πεφοινιγμένην.

Theophrastus, On Stones, 53–54

*τινὸς παντοπωλίου: Caley translates this as ‘inn’. I’m not sure what Greek text he was using, but I think the παντοπώλιον is the place where you find everything (τὰ πάτνα) for sale (πωλεῖν).

Cyan / Lapis Lazuli

“Just as some red ochre is spontaneous and some is artificial, so with cyan, some is native, some prepared (like in Egypt*). Now, there are three kinds of cyan: the Egyptian, the Scythian and third the Cyprian. The Egyptian is best for unmixed pigments, the Scythian for those that are wetter. The Egyptian, however, is prepared. In fact, those who record the deeds of their kings also record this: a king first made liquid cyan by imitating the native kind, as gifts of fired and unfired cyan were sent as tribute from Phoenicia and other places. Meanwhile, those who grind pigments** say that Scythian cyan produces from itself four colours: the first from the finest parts is most pale, the second from the coarsest parts is darkest. These come to be by art, too, as does white lead.”

ἔστι δέ, ὥσπερ καὶ μίλτος ἡ μὲν αὐτόματος ἡ δὲ τεχνική, καὶ κύανος ὁ μὲν αὐτοφυὴς ὁ δὲ σκευαστὸς ὥσπερ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ. γένη δὲ κυάνου τρία, ὁ Αἰγύπτιος, καὶ ὁ Σκύθης, καὶ τρίτος ὁ Κύπριος. βέλτιστος δ' ὁ Αἰγύπτιος εἰς τὰ ἄκρατα λειώματα, ὁ δὲ Σκύθης εἰς τὰ ὑδαρέστερα. σκευαστὸς δ' ὁ Αἰγύπτιος. καὶ οἱ γράφοντες τὰ περὶ τοὺς βασιλεῖς καὶ τοῦτο γράφουσι, τίς πρῶτος βασιλεὺς ἐποίησε χυτὸν κύανον μιμησάμενος τὸν αὐτοφυῆ, δῶρά τε πέμπεσθαι παρ' ἄλλων τε καὶ ἐκ Φοινίκης φόρον κυάνου, τοῦ μὲν ἀπύρου τοῦ δὲ πεπυρωμένου. φασὶ δ' οἱ τὰ φάρμακα τρίβοντες τὸν Σκύθην κύανον ἐξ ἑαυτοῦ ποιεῖν χρώματα τέτταρα, τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ἐκ τῶν λεπτοτάτων λευκότατον, τὸ δὲ δεύτερον ἐκ τῶν παχυτάτων μελάντατον. ταῦτά τε δὴ τέχνῃ γίνεται καὶ ἔτι τὸ ψιμύθιον.

Theophrastus, On Stones, 55–56

*κύανος (cyan): a dark blue pigment. The native kind is most likely lapis lazuli. The χυτὸν κύανον is obscure, but might be a liquid form (parallel would be χυτὸς ἄργυρος, quicksilver). I translate it as ‘liquid cyan’.

**οἱ τὰ φάρμακα τρίβοντες : “the drug-grinders.” τὰ φάρμακα has a semantic range that does not map on to either ‘drugs’, ‘medicines’ or ‘poisons’. Closest thing, I guess, would be to say, ‘chemicals,’ but that’s probably a bit too specific.

Cinnabar

“There is also a native and a manufactured kind of cinnabar. The native kind around Iberia is very hard and stony, as is the one in the Kolchian regions. This, they say, is found on cliffs, which they bring down by shooting it with arrows. The manufactured kind comes only from one place in the Kilbian region (?)*, a little bit outside of Ephesus. It is a sandy ore** which they collect when shiny, like Kermes. Once this is ground to a very fine powder in stone vessels, they wash it in copper ones, and again, taking the sediment, they wash and grind it, a task that takes some skill. For from the same amount of ore, some people produce much, some little or nothing; but, they treat the washings from above, coating them one by one. The sediment below is cinnabar, while what remains on top is mostly scum.***

“They say that Kallias, an Athenian, discovered and invented the manufacturing process from the silver mines. He thought the sandy ore had gold in it because it was shiny, and so he worked on it and collected it. When he perceived it did not have any, he marveled at the beauty of the sand because of its colour, and thus he came to the manner of its manufacture. This wasn’t long ago, but about ninety years at most before Praxibolos was archon at Athens.

“It is clear from these things that art imitates nature but produces its own kinds of things. Of these, some exist for the sake of utility, others, like paints, only for the sake of appearance, and some equally for the sake of both, like quicksilver. For this has a use, as well. It is made when cinnabar is ground up with vinegar in a bronze vessel and bronze pestle. Perhaps we might discover more things like these.”

γίνεται δὲ καὶ κιννάβαρι τὸ μὲν αὐτοφυὲς τὸ δὲ κατ' ἐργασίαν. αὐτοφυὲς μὲν τὸ περὶ Ἰβηρίαν σκληρὸν σφόδρα καὶ λιθῶδες, καὶ τὸ ἐν Κόλχοις. τοῦτο δέ φασιν εἶναι ἐπὶ κρημνῶν, ὃ καταβάλλουσι τοξεύοντες. τὸ δὲ κατ' ἐργασίαν ὑπὲρ Ἐφέσου μικρὸν <ἐν Κιλβιανοῖς (?)> ἐξ ἑνὸς τόπου μόνον. ἔστι δ' ἄμμος ἣν συλλέγουσι λαμπυρίζουσαν καθάπερ ὁ κόκκος· ταύτην δὲ τρίψαντες ὅλως ἐν ἀγγείοις λιθίνοις λειοτάτην πλύνουσιν ἐν χαλκοῖς [μικρὸν ἐν καλοῖς], τὸ δ' ὑφιστάμενον πάλιν λαβόντες πλύνουσι καὶ τρίβουσιν, ἐν ᾧπέρ ἐστι τὸ τῆς τέχνης· οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἐκ τοῦ ἴσου πολὺ περιποιοῦσιν, οἱ δ' ὀλίγον ἢ οὐθέν· ἀλλὰ πλύσματι τῷ ἐπάνω χρῶνται ἓν πρὸς ἓν ἀλείφοντες. γίνεται δὲ τὸ μὲν ὑφιστάμενον κάτω κιννάβαρι, τὸ δ' ἐπάνω καὶ πλεῖον πλύσμα.

καταδεῖξαι δέ φασι καὶ εὑρεῖν τὴν ἐργασίαν Καλλίαν τινὰ Ἀθηναῖον ἐκ τῶν ἀργυρείων, ὃς οἰόμενος ἔχειν τὴν ἄμμον χρυσίον διὰ τὸ λαμπυρίζειν ἐπραγματεύετο καὶ συνέλεγεν. ἐπεὶ δ' ᾔσθετο ὅτι οὐκ ἔχοι τὸ δὲ τῆς ἄμμου κάλλος ἐθαύμαζε διὰ τὴν χρόαν, οὕτως ἐπὶ τὴν ἐργασίαν ἦλθε ταύτην. οὐ παλαιὸν δ' ἐστὶν ἀλλὰ περὶ ἔτη μάλιστ' ἐνενήκοντα εἰς ἄρχοντα Πραξίβουλον Ἀθήνησι.

φανερὸν δ' ἐκ τούτων ὅτι μιμεῖται τὴν φύσιν ἡ τέχνη, τὰ δ' ἴδια ποιεῖ, καὶ τούτων τὰ μὲν χρήσεως χάριν τὰ δὲ μόνον φαντασίας ὥσπερ τὰς ἀλοιφάς. ἔνια δὲ ἴσως ἀμφοῖν ὥσπερ χυτὸν ἄργυρον. ἔστι γάρ τις χρεία καὶ τούτου. ποιεῖται δὲ ὅταν κιννάβαρι τριφθῇ μετ' ὄξους ἐν ἀγγείῳ χαλκῷ καὶ δοίδυκι χαλκῷ. τὰ μὲν οὖν τοιαῦτα τάχ' ἄν τις λάβοι πλείω.

Theophrastus, On Stones, 58–60

*<ἐν Κιλβιανοῖς (?)>: some textual confusion. Schneider seems to have transposed ἐν καλοῖς from a bit below to here and emended it to ἐν Κιλβιανοῖς (‘in the Kilbian region’). Sure, why not…

**ἄμμος = ψάμμος, as in a sandy ore (probably, maybe).

***ἀλλὰ πλύσματι … πλύσμα. Not quite clear on the process here, but probably something similar to sluicing or panning: water goes over the sandy ore, and because of the agitation, solids of different sizes or densities separate into different layers.

Pedlars and Peddlers, Hucksters and Trash-talkers

(Ed 22 March 2019: I’ve since found an excellent book on shopping in Ancient Rome by Claire Holleran. Here’s the Google books view of the relevant chapter.)

I’ve been trying to sort out a term from Galen’s pharmacology: a group of people called ‘rhôpopôlai‘ who seem to deal with plants professionally. Not ‘professionally’ like doctor- or florist-professionally, but still in a way that everyone recognizes:

"Once I have added this further point, I will end the discussion of abrotanum. The incredible Pamphilus, although he describes this herb first and even tries to give a description of it from his own experience (so what if he doesn’t do this for any of the herbs that follow), nevertheless makes a terrible error: he thought that this plant is the one the Romans call, 'santonicum'. The fact is, abrotanum differs from santonicum, as Dioscorides very accurately described in book three of De materia medica. Everyone knows this, doctors and rhôpopôlai alike.

τοσόνδε μέντοι προσθεὶς ἔτι περὶ ἀβροτόνου καταπαύσω τὸν λόγον, ὡς ὁ θαυμασιώτατος Πάμφιλος, καίτοι ταύτην πρώτην πόαν γράφων καὶ τάχ' ἂν εἰ μηδενὸς τῶν ἐφεξῆς, ἀλλὰ ταύτης γοῦν ἐθελήσας αὐτόπτης γενέσθαι, ὅμως ἔσφαλται μέγιστα, νομίζων ὑπὸ Ῥωμαίων σαντόνικον ὀνομάζεσθαι τὴν βοτάνην.  διαφέρει γὰρ ἀβρότονον σαντονίκου, καθότι καὶ Διοσκουρίδης ἔγραψεν ἐν τῷ τρίτῳ περὶ ὕλης ἀκριβέστατα, καὶ πάντες ἴσασι τοῦτό γε ἰατροὶ καὶ ῥωποπῶλαι.

Galen, Simple Drugs, 6.pr. (11.804 K.)

Galen thinks doctors are expected to know the difference between one kind of artemisia and another (artemisia santonicum and artemisia abrotanum). His expectations for the rhôpopôlai, however, are more relaxed, and he doesn't think he's being controversial in saying this (he mentions this profession five times, he's not too big on them). At the same time he also seems confident that he and his audience are familiar with who these people are. The character of the rhôpopôlês is so well known, so utterly unremarkable, that it can slip in as the punchline of Galen’s trash-talk.

Of course, they aren’t unremarkable anymore. I have no idea what a 'rhôpopôlês' is, what he knows or doesn’t know, where one finds him in town, what he does. The rhôpopôlês is an alien to me. Even after putting together a bunch of texts that talk about him, I’m still not sure I really get the joke. 

A 'rhôpopôlês' is probably something like a huckster, hawker, costermonger, street-vendor. (to be honest, I don't know what these guys are either. I have an irrational fear of markets and my imagination is limited to the pedlars on summer sundays at Parc Mont Royal). Literally, it is someone who sells or deals in ῥῶπος. What this means is not totally clear: sometimes, it means a trinket, or small non-perishable good, i.e., something you don’t need a fixed shop to sell; other times it means something much more specific, namely pigments, oils, dyes, perfumes and drugs.

The specification we see in later sources led to some debate about whether this term (and terms like it) implies there was a profession of druggists or pharmacists in Roman antiquity. It probably doesn't; there were ‘root-cutters’, but that’s another story.

“'Rhôpopôlês': a person who sells 'rhôpos’, that is any dry, miscellaneous goods.”

ῥωποπώλης: ὁ τὸν ῥῶπον πωλῶν, ὅ ἐστι ξηρὸς φόρτος καὶ ποικίλος.

Phrynichus, Sophistic Preparations (epitome) Page 107, line 1

“Rhôpos and gelgê: Miscellaneous and small goods. Thus, 'rhôpopôlês' (‘rôpos-seller) and 'gelgopôlê' (gelge-seller).”

ῥῶπος καὶ γέλγη· ὁ ποικίλος καὶ λεπτὸς φόρτος, ὅθεν ῥωποπώλης καὶ γελγοπώλη

Aelius Dionysius, Attic Names, s.v. ῥῶπος (entry 14)

“The Attics say ‘gelgê ' and ' gelgê-seller'; Greeks say 'rhôpos ' and 'rhôpos-seller'.”

γέλγη καὶ γελγοπώλης Ἀττικοί, ῥῶπος καὶ ῥωποπώλης Ἕλληνες.

Moeris, Attic Lexicon, 194,4

“It is said that the first Phoenicians to sail to Tartessos, having brought oil and other nautical rhôpos, came back loaded with so much silver that there was nowhere to keep or put it, but when sailing away from the place they were forced to make everything else which they used out of silver, and even all the anchors, as well.”

Τοὺς πρώτους τῶν Φοινίκων ἐπὶ Ταρτησσὸν πλεύσαντας λέγεται τοσοῦτον ἀργύριον ἀντιφορτίσασθαι, ἔλαιον καὶ ἄλλον ναυτικὸν ῥῶπον εἰσαγαγόντας, ὥστε μηκέτι ἔχειν δύνασθαι μήτε ἐπιδέξασθαι τὸν ἄργυρον, ἀλλ' ἀναγκασθῆναι ἀποπλέοντας ἐκ τῶν τόπων τά τε ἄλλα πάντα ἀργυρᾶ οἷς ἐχρῶντο κατασκευάσασθαι, καὶ δὴ καὶ τὰς ἀγκύρας πάσας.

Pseudo-Aristotle, On Marvellous Things Heard, 844a17-23

“Nature is everywhere precise, artistic, lacking nothing and without excess – ‘having’, as Erasistratus says, ‘nothing rhôpikon.’” (=trashy? tracky? worthless?? superfluous?)

πανταχοῦ μὲν γὰρ ἡ φύσις ἀκριβὴς καὶ φιλότεχνος καὶ ἀνελλιπὴς καὶ ἀπέριττος, ‘οὐδέν’ ὡς ἔφησεν Ἐρασίστρατος ‘ἔχουσα ῥωπικόν’

Plutarch, Moralia 495C7-9 = Erasistratus Fr. 83

[[then there’s a semantic shift, at some point in the dark ages.]]

“'Rhôpos': compounds, pigments, all those things used by dyers, painters and perfumers. Whence, 'rhôpopôlês', 'perfume dealer' (?). Some people have also called miscellaneous goods, 'rhôpos'.”

Ῥῶπος: μίγμα· χρώματα, ὅσα βαφεῦσι, ζωγράφοις, μυρεψοῖς χρησιμεύει· ὅθεν ῥωποπώλης, ὁ μυροπώλης· τινὲς δὲ καὶ τὸν παντοδαπὸν φόρτον, ῥῶπον εἰρήκασιν.

Photius, Lexicon, s.v. Ῥῶπος (p.494)

“Rhôpos: compounds of colour, those which are used by dyers, painters and perfumers. Whence 'rhôpopôlês'. Some people have also called miscellaneous goods 'rhôpos'.”

Ῥῶπος: μίγμα χρώματος, ὅσα βαφεῦσι, ζωγράφοις, μυρεψοῖς χρησιμεύει. ὅθεν ῥωποπώλης. τινὲς δὲ καὶ τὸν παντοδαπὸν φόρτον ῥῶπον εἰρήκασι.

Suda, s.v. Ῥῶπος

“A rhôpos is a small, cheap, miscellaneous good, as Aelius Dionysius says, while gelgê, he says, is what the ancients called it. Whence, just as there are rhôpos-sellers, so too there are gelgê- sellers. The word, 'rhôpos', occurs in Demosthenes and others, and in Strabo. From this also comes rhopoperperethra, when someone calls out to someone they are mocking with vulgarity and silliness ('trash-talk'?), the inflection of which follows daktylethra ('finger sheath') and similar words. It also occurs in the verb, 'rhôpizein', which refers to making compounds and mixtures.

Ῥῶπος μέντοι λεππὸς καὶ εὐτελὴς φόρτος, ὡς δὲ Αἴλιος Διονύσιος λέγει, καὶ ποικίλος, γέλγην δέ, φησίν, αὐτὸν ἔλεγον οἱ παλαιοί. ὅθεν καθὰ ὁ ῥωποπώλης, οὕτω καὶ ὁ γελγοπώλης. ἡ δὲ λέξις τοῦ ῥώπου παρά τε Δημοσθένει καὶ ἑτέροις, κεῖται δὲ καὶ παρὰ τῷ Στράβωνι. ἐκ τούτου δὲ καὶ ῥωποπερπερήθρα τις προσερρήθη ἐπὶ χυδαιότητι καὶ φλυαρίᾳ σκωπτόμενος, οὗ ἡ παραγωγὴ κατὰ τὸ δακτυλήθρα καὶ τὰ ὅμοια. φέρεται δὲ καὶ ῥῆμα τὸ ῥωπίζειν, ὃ δηλοῖ τὸ σύμμικτα καὶ συμπεφυρμένα ποιεῖν.

Eustathius, Commentarii ad Homeri Iliadem, 3.459-360